“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
- February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011
- American
- Entrepreneur, businessman, industrial designer
- He brought to the world revolutionary products that combined technology and design at a high level, such as the personal computer Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad, and also revolutionized the music industry with the iPod, iTunes, and iTunes Store.
Quote
“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
Explanation
In this quote, Steve Jobs explains that customer feedback alone isn’t enough to drive innovation. While it’s important to understand the needs and desires of customers, simply responding to their requests can result in products that are outdated by the time they reach the market. Jobs recognized that customers may not always be able to articulate what they truly need until they experience a product that introduces new possibilities—which is why companies should anticipate future desires rather than just react to current demands. This philosophy is what drove Apple to innovate not just by improving existing products, but by creating entirely new categories of technology that customers hadn’t yet imagined.
For Jobs, the key to success was to think ahead and innovate beyond what customers thought they wanted. By introducing products like the iPhone and iPad, Apple didn’t just respond to market trends—it shaped them, leading customers to new ideas about what a mobile device could be. Jobs believed that innovation required a visionary approach, one that led rather than followed the market, and that companies needed to be proactive in anticipating what consumers would need in the future.
Today, this quote serves as a reminder that true innovation often comes from pushing boundaries and offering customers something they didn’t even know they needed. It underscores the importance of vision and leadership in creating game-changing products that redefine industries, rather than simply iterating on existing ideas. Jobs’ approach challenges companies to think beyond just fulfilling existing demands and to focus on creating the future.
